Chapter 347: Chapter 346 “The Transcendent Plan” Promulgated

On the 30th day since Kunlun set out again…

In the military, Guo Qiang and Ye Junchang, two soldiers, were sitting on the square’s benches discussing some issues.

Guo Qiang was still wrapped in bandages, his right side completely charred by a laser, barely saved by the advanced bionics technology of the time.

But bionics weren’t omnipotent; a large part of his right side had been surgically removed, including some lung lobes. He estimated it would take at least half a year to fully recover.

“Little Ye, I owe you my life. If you hadn’t dragged me back, I probably would’ve been a goner,” said Guo Qiang, lifting his head to feel the wisps of breeze in the air and showing a contented expression, “Being alive is so great.”

“It’s lucky we’re the ultimate victors. It’s really wonderful…”

Ye Junchang shook his head and adjusted his glasses, “Colonel, I was thinking, since we have the Virtual World as technical support, why not send soldiers to carry out all kinds of exercises there? The Badit Soldiers we captured could be used as opponents.”

“In this war, after analysis, we could see that we still missed a lot of details. Although our warriors were brave, there were still a great many unnecessary sacrifices that could have been avoided.”

“If we had thoroughly practiced in the Virtual World, including scenarios like losing electronic communications, weapon malfunctions, and super lifeform invasions, since we have such technology, all aspects could be exercised in the Virtual World.”

“Such exercises would undoubtedly greatly improve the psychological quality of the soldiers.”

Guo Qiang thought for a while and stretched his limbs, “I have considered this issue, but you must know, no matter how much you practice, it can never compare to real warfare… As long as it’s an exercise, subconsciously you’ll know there won’t be loss of life, and the entire mental state and levels of excitement will be different.”

“Isn’t it said that the Virtual World can be set to be exactly like reality?” Ye Junchang continued, “What if the soldiers didn’t know they were in an exercise? Suddenly a war breaks out… it can be called – surprise training.”

Guo Qiang gave a wry smile and shook his head, “Not everyone can quickly regain calm after a war ends like you can. If such wars happened again and again, who could stand it? And if you overdo the surprise exercises, soldiers will catch on that these sudden wars are just exercises.”

“Have you heard the story of ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf’… If a real war did happen and soldiers couldn’t tell the difference between reality and the exercise, still thinking it was just a drill, what do you think would happen?”

“There’s a time to be tense and a time to relax; it’s impossible for a string to remain forever taut. This time, it’s been quite enough for everyone to digest for a while.”

Guo Qiang continued, “However, using the Virtual World for exercises is still a very good method. We now have a large number of Alien soldiers to use as long-term training enemies.”

“You do have a point, the Virtual World is really something…”

“Alien enemies…”

Ye Junchang silently watched the passersby on the street, each with their own thoughts, no longer the smiles of the past, but as time passed, not as heavy as at the beginning.

He checked various online forums on his phone; the shadow of war was quickly receding, and topics about the Virtual World were among the hottest these days.

Indeed, the dead are gone, and living in the present is what matters most. This forgetful nature, from one perspective, is actually a protection for Humans themselves.

Who would want to live in the past forever?

Human exploration will not stop due to various difficulties; this exploration is manifested in two aspects: the first is the exploration of outer space, of interstellar civilizations; the second is the exploration of the depths of our own minds.

The Virtual World, without doubt, was a path to inward exploration.

That morning at nine o’clock sharp, government departments solemnly announced the long-planned “Transcendent Project” for all citizens to participate in and discuss.

The government departments declared that only the elderly on the brink of death and citizens who had lost their lives accidentally for various reasons were eligible to participate. Healthy citizens were not allowed to take part in the “Transcendent Project.”

These naturally deceased humans would begin an entirely new life within Virtual World No. 14!

On one hand, this plan was to reward the people’s diligent dedication in real life.

On the other hand, it aimed to cultivate truly virtuous and spiritually strong individuals who possessed their own philosophical thoughts and could adapt to a longer lifespan as “Transcendent.”

Of course, within the entire plan, the computation for the new civilization was limited. Even though there was a significant redundancy in computing power available at the moment, in the foreseeable future, the total computational capacity would inevitably slowly reach its limit. Thus, humanity couldn’t endlessly add more computers, nor could they indefinitely increase the population within.

The “Pangu Brain” also needed maintenance from humans in the real world to ensure its long-term usage.

And humans entering the Virtual World could not exist there forever.

The standard set at present was… after entering from the real world, citizens could continue to live through five cycles of reincarnation in the Virtual World.

During these five cycles, if one found the meaning of life and passed certain stringent assessments, then that human citizen could return to the real world and begin a brand-new life.

If, within the five cycles, a citizen became addicted to the Virtual World and fell into a state of “degeneracy,” then there was no need for them to return… Why should real-world humans continue to provide maintenance services for such people over the long term?

The principle was simple, but actual implementation was not.

There remained numerous details of the policy to be discussed. After all, it was closely related to everyone, as each person would one day grow old and die. Even the youth broadly participated in the discussions.

In an age of enlightenment, everyone understood that becoming a “Transcendent” who could escape the Virtual World was no easy feat; it required immense mental strength…

It wasn’t about absolute justice, but rather achieving relative justice.

Therefore, the assessment standards had to be rigorously established.

And the “Transcendents” who returned to the real world were not truly immortal; after one natural cycle of death, they needed to re-enter the Virtual World for assessments, and so on.

In this way, the entire civilization could develop steadily and lastingly.

There were those who felt that “…although the five cycles are enough, and are very long compared to current lifespans, it would be better to link them with Civilization Contribution made during one’s lifetime. For example, those with a high contribution might gain more cycles, which would to some extent enhance work enthusiasm.”

But many opposed this view, arguing– “This approach seems somewhat similar to the religious concept of reincarnation… Are we now working hard just to enjoy ourselves in the Virtual World?”

“Such an attitude is definitely not positive, abnormal, unhealthy, and would make passing the assessments quite difficult.”

Various universities even organized debates on the topic, and television programs also featured related debates, leading to quite the vocal uproar.