Did the Central China Region actually launch the project quietly twenty years ago?
Representatives from all regions were immediately outraged and voiced their condemnation!
They actually did this without even consulting with anyone, an action that could potentially bring disaster to the entire Data City?
For a moment, most of the councilors were indignant, but the councilors from the Central China Region did not show much expression. They had known about this information before they came. Although many councilors were very dissatisfied with the military region's quiet launch of this project, and even had the intention to investigate internally, the Central China Region has always taken a tough stance externally.
"Please calm down, everyone."
The representative from the Central China Region spoke up, "That was indeed an internal oversight, but the project originated from Central China, and whether it was used for research is an internal matter for Central China. Let's ask ourselves, haven't other regions been conducting research on prohibited projects without our consent?"
The North America Region congressman, surnamed Li, spoke up, "No project is more dangerous than your Central China project. Entrusting that project to Central China was a sign of trust, and now you have betrayed that trust!"
"Mr. Weirs's statement is somewhat biased." The congressman referred to as Li laughed, "The main reason this project is under the jurisdiction of my Central China Region is that my Central China provides 80% of its energy, and the project itself is a resource of my Central China. Now that we are sharing the results, it is already out of consideration for the friendship with the Federation. Otherwise, do you really think we are not capable of independent research?"
These words sparked an even bigger uproar in other areas, with many criticizing the remarks. Wu Xiaoli, on the stage, kept her head down and remained silent, looking impatient. " Federation politicians are such a hassle," she thought. "They always drag on and on about trivial matters. What's the point of all this?"
Central China Region is currently the region with the highest energy output, boasting the best photovoltaic and nuclear power technologies. Its annual output of engineers is equal to the combined output of all other regions. Half of the Data City's energy comes from Central China. Would other regions dare to challenge this?
Why are you making a scene here if you're afraid to confront them? It's just a waste of time.
If it weren't for the fact that this project is too energy-intensive to operate at full capacity, and the pressure on independent research in Central China is too great, we would never have even considered involving other regions of the Federation. To be so caught up in such a good thing and then act like a moral condemner, trying to get more benefits, is truly tactless.
Sure enough, other regions soon raised the issue of task allocation after participating in the mission.
But on this point, Central China will not budge an inch.
Over the years, Central China has invested the most in this project; how could they possibly back down?
Ultimately, after more than an hour of bickering, only one conclusion was reached: if people from other regions make significant contributions to fixing the game in future missions, more slots could be allocated to them.
After being given a way out, Wu Xiaoli, who had been standing there for over an hour, was finally able to begin introducing the new situation.
"The first batch of players in the game have basically taken control of that world, but those adventurers are not a professional national team. I will give everyone here a detailed report on their origins."
The next second, all the councilors received a catalog on their smart devices.
Many members of parliament, including those from Central China, were receiving this information for the first time, and the entire parliament fell silent once again.
Back then, in order to explore more virtual worlds, the governments of various districts encouraged people from Data City to participate in various game explorations as adventurers. At that time, no one expected that the extremely difficult Demon World would bring such great benefits.
By the time the officials realized what was happening and tried to intervene, it was almost too late!
Despite numerous attempts to recruit players, they were all wiped out by the guild members inside, leaving them as amnesiac civilians. Moreover, the players inside had evolved to an unbelievable level, with each individual possessing an incredibly massive amount of data. This made it extremely difficult for the official team to open the area easily or recruit new players. Every time they opened a passage, they had to be extremely careful, otherwise, if they were to be counter-invaded, it could be a catastrophic disaster!
According to the intelligence, the first batch of players are all 40,000 years old and come from various regions, but it is almost impossible to win them over through personal connections. After all, for many people present, the people inside are probably their ancestors.
"Because opening the security passage is quite complex and requires a huge amount of energy, the number of people allowed in is limited," Wu Xiaoling stated directly. "We've selected three people in total, all descendants of those developers, based on big data analysis!"
"Their genes are hereditary, so they can recreate many memories from that time based on algorithms. As descendants of the developers, they know information about subsequent versions and have a certain probability of turning the tables, or at least have the possibility of securing a place in that world."
The developer's descendants?
The other councilors were taken aback. It seemed that the Central China Region still held the greatest advantage. Once their people controlled the game, wouldn't the allocation of resources be entirely up to Central China?
"You provided the energy, and you can continue to push your people in, based on one-third of the energy you provided, but you must contribute two-thirds to support the passage we opened," Wu Xiaoli stated her ultimate goal at this moment.
This sparked another uproar among other district councilors, who felt this was clearly extortion.
Does that mean they have to provide three times the energy to get someone in? Isn't that just trying to get something for nothing?
What does "Central China" mean? Does it mean they didn't contribute any resources this time, and relied entirely on subsidies?
"We've already used up too much energy for this research, and the current energy shortage is unavoidable," Wu Xiaoli replied coldly.
The other councilors from Central China didn't say much either. The initiative is now in their hands. Although they mainly want to leverage the influence of other districts, they don't mean much politeness at all. Do it if you want, or get lost. There are plenty of people who can do it.
Unlike Central China, other regions are still dominated by large capital, and many energy projects are in the hands of capital. Even if these congressmen refuse now, those large capital will secretly cooperate with Central China Region for their own benefit. I believe everyone present is aware of this.
So despite the argument, they reluctantly joined the agreement in the end, but the specific candidates were still under consideration. The discussion lasted for nearly eight hours before all the details of the terms and conditions were clarified. Wu Xiaoli, who was in charge of introducing the project, had already left five hours earlier to meet with the mining boy who had just arrived that day.
--
"Do you have a general understanding of the situation?" Wu Xiaoli looked at the uneasy boy, somewhat helplessly.
This child has never had any military training; can he really complete the mission if he's just thrown in like that?
But she had no choice; time was of the essence. According to the person controlling the interface to that world, "Several massive data entities in that world have reached an outrageous level. If they are allowed to continue growing, they might directly break through the game's interface and actively connect to the Data City. If that happens, it will truly be a new catastrophe."
Therefore, completing the mission now is not simply about exploring New World, but also about self-preservation.
Unless the energy support for that world is completely shut down, but the powerful figures above would absolutely not allow it, because if it were shut down, that game world might collapse directly, and Data City would completely lose the possibility of developing into that world.
Actually, she supported shutting it down; she always felt that the dangers of that world outweighed the benefits. Unfortunately, she wasn't the decision-maker.
"I think I understand," the boy stammered.
Wu Xiaoli sighed and continued, "Afterwards, you will stay in the Data City for a year of military and mission training. The time is tight, and you must get into the swing of things immediately!"
"Yes, sir. I will do my best to complete the mission!" the boy said excitedly.
Complete the task?
This kid really has a big mouth.
Wu Xiaoli shook her head with amusement. This kid had no idea what a difficult task he was about to complete.
"Sir."
"Explain!"
"May I ask, you all say I'm a descendant of those developers, that I have their genes, which is why I was able to participate in this mission. May I ask who my ancestors were?"
"Your name is Jiang Xiaoling, right?"
"Yes"
"There were two chief designers of this vast game world. One was Pu Yunchuan, who was in charge of designing the demons. He had no descendants and died at the age of forty. Although digital uploading technology had already become popular in the Federation at that time, Pu Yunchuan never found any record of uploading his own data. The second was your ancestor: Jiang Cheng!"
The second update will be posted a little later...