He Fang lay quietly on the bed.
The deliveryman had already left, right at midnight, after his birthday had passed.
Before leaving, the deliveryman had cleaned the room spotless, so there was no need for him to tidy up anything at all.
The computer beside him was still on, and the bed was a little rumpled from his movements.
He Fang turned to his side, leaning against the pillow. His mind was a blank haze.
It had been a very long time since he last talked to anyone, so long that he had even forgotten how to communicate with people.
Back then, his parents believed that his social anxiety could get better if he interacted with people more, so they insisted that he live at school. But He Fang didn’t get any better at all. He instinctively avoided others, and the whole dorm ended up feeling distant from him.
Although there wasn’t any of the scheming that people said, like what happened in girls’ dorms, He Fang truly felt what it meant to be silent in the midst of noise. Back then, it was as if there was always an unbridgeable chasm between him and everyone around him.
So, He Fang never believed that talking to people would improve his condition.
But…
Today.
For the first time, he felt that maybe his parents had been right.
For the first time, he realized that talking to someone wasn’t as difficult as he had imagined.
The deliveryman was a very special person. He was beautiful, delicate, and made people turn their heads to look.
But he had an exceptionally bright personality, as if endless lovely notes could flow from his mouth. He was like the perfect little prince from a fairy tale, impossible to resist.
He Fang originally planned to treat the other person with the same cold indifference he had once shown to his former roommate. He just wanted to fulfill a birthday wish by himself, nothing more.
But He Fang didn’t know why. Listening to the other person’s endless chatter, their loud laughter, made this room, which had never been so noisy before, feel unusually crowded just because of the other person’s pleasantly mechanical voice.
The two-player game in his hands was one He Fang had already cleared with full achievements long ago. Where the fun parts were, where the stunning moments were, where the places were that would make people’s eyes light up, he knew all of it by heart. But He Fang would not say a word about any of it.
And the deliveryman was the type who liked games but wasn’t skilled at them. The way the two of them coordinated wasn’t exactly terrible, but in reality, it was always full of narrow escapes. The deliveryman would get startled and laugh during the boss fights, and He Fang inexplicably felt that the person next to him was somehow an exasperating loudspeaker. No matter how pleasant his voice was, he was still a loudspeaker.
Yet having that thought, He Fang also inexplicably felt that he wasn’t the same as before. He used this kind of feeling to judge someone.
Thinking of this, He Fang couldn’t help but turn over, feeling annoyed at times when the deliveryman would take the initiative to ask him for game tips. Even though He Fang didn’t want to talk, the deliveryman’s eyes always stayed on the screen and never on him, and that bright, sparkling gaze made He Fang unconsciously sink deeper into the game, too.
And when playing the game, He Fang believed he was strong.
“It’s really fun. Such a shame we didn’t clear it. When I get back, let’s play online together, okay?” The deliveryman said cheerfully while tidying up the mess they’d made eating—though most of it had been eaten by the deliveryman himself—discussing it happily with He Fang.
But then the deliveryman thought about it and shook his head. He changed the way he put it.
“Next time I have a day off, can I come over again? I feel like two-player games are more fun when you play together in person.”
Thinking of this, He Fang turned over again.
The deliveryman would always laugh so hard at his own mistakes in the game that he couldn’t stop. His long hair would sway gently with the trembling of his laughing body. He leaned back in He Fang’s gaming chair, bright, warm, like the sun.
He Fang unconsciously covered his head with his hands. The person was already gone, yet his mind was filled with the image of the deliveryman.
He looked… truly so happy.
He was very beautiful.
When he looked at He Fang, it felt as if those eyes held no one else but him.
He Fang felt his strange thoughts making his face burn up. Yet for some reason, his mind was so blissfully active right now, running over every detail about the deliveryman again and again, clinging to them like he couldn’t bear to let them go.
He even oddly felt that the air still held the lingering scent of the deliveryman. He couldn’t describe exactly what that scent was, but it always made him think of summer, of green, of cicadas singing, of the sun.
He didn’t want to do anything else at all, only to replay it over and over in his mind.
This was the first time he had ever gotten so close to someone like this.
This was the first time he had ever been able to have so much fun alone with another person.
Even though he didn’t laugh much, even though he barely spoke, He Fang truly felt that during these hours today, he had been so happy.
He didn’t even… want to get on the game. The noise of the game would disrupt the beautiful memories of this day in his mind.
It was also the first time He Fang realized just how strong his longing to connect with others really was.
When He Fang woke up the next morning, he felt it was a bit absurd. He had even dreamt about the deliveryman because he’d thought about him so much during the day. He couldn’t remember what the deliveryman had said in the dream, but he could recall how he had smiled in it.
Honestly… he felt like he was a little out of his mind.
His refrigerator was stuffed full of things the deliveryman had bought and brought back. The two of them couldn’t possibly eat that much, yet he had bought so much, with a lot of it still piled up on the kitchen table.
He Fang took out some of the buns inside, heated them, and ate them. Most of what the deliveryman had bought weren’t ready-to-eat foods at all; there were even plenty of frozen semi-prepared items. Back then, when He Fang saw the table completely covered, he was shocked, too.
But maybe it was exactly because of this that He Fang thought that maybe the deliveryman had been looking forward to having a good birthday, so he bought so much, even though he wasn’t exactly well-off.
The deliveryman saying he didn’t have any friends might be true, too. From beginning to end, the deliveryman’s phone had never once rung. If he were lying and had lots of friends, then surely his phone would have kept ringing.
Was he really his only friend?
Even though it was already the next morning, He Fang couldn’t help but smile whenever he thought about this. This feeling was so strange, and his state of mind was strange, too.
He Fang let his mind go blank for a moment and focused on using up some of the semi-prepared food. If the deliveryman came over again next time, he’d let him eat the snacks. He could even buy more snacks to keep here for the deliveryman to eat.
He Fang lay back down in the sensory simulation pod, the corners of his mouth still carrying a smile.
Seeing this familiar main city again, He Fang naturally checked the current event statistics inside the city. Since it was his rest period, the in-game time was sped up. The residential area he had developed in the main city was already coming along nicely. In a while, people would be able to move in.
And because of the city’s restrictions, the population growth in the main city hadn’t been as explosive as at the very beginning. By now, it had only reached 150,000 people.
But the recent population increases in Hope City and Angel City had mostly come from the main city, not from outside. It looked like this war with Ao City had made a lot of people hold back from venturing out.
He Fang went straight to the new development zone in the game. Many people were already there looking at houses. He Fang saw that lots of people were signing purchase contracts. It seemed that even if they went off to fight for territory with Hope City and Angel City, these NPCs from the main city would still end up coming back here in the end.
But how did they have money so quickly? Did they borrow it all from the state treasury?
This time, He Fang’s goal for logging in was very clear. He went to the research institute.
However—
“It worked?” He Fang was completely stunned. “It actually worked? Wasn’t this supposed to be extremely difficult?”
“Yes, it worked.” Zhu Yan couldn’t help but laugh when he saw He Fang’s shocked expression. He liked seeing the Creator so surprised by his results. “Although Nightmare Beast Seeds are the makers of the apocalypse, in my view, their real use is more like an anti-scientific new energy source. Maybe this world had already developed to a certain level and then discovered this new energy they couldn’t control, which turned things into what they are now.”
He Fang was dumbfounded. New energy? Nightmare Beast Seeds?
“Actually, what you asked for was very simple to achieve, City Lord. Plus, with the sci-fi movie ideas you gave me and some existing scientific theories, the research went really quickly. After going to Ao City, I got some new inspiration too, so making it was very easy.” Zhu Yan showed He Fang what he had in his hands.
What He Fang needed at first was something very simple—something that only needed to achieve a display screen, large data storage, and an energy source.
For Zhu Yan, making a screen was so easy that it couldn’t be easier. There were already all kinds of shapes—watches, rings, earrings, neckbands, cuffs, brooches—anything could be used as a carrier. There was never any need to worry about that. The only real challenge was the energy source.
Zhu Yan showed He Fang a tiny cube, not even the size of a fingernail. Zhu Yan simply called it an energy block.
“This was inspired by the box that belonged to that spy, Zhang Guangshi,” Zhu Yan explained. “The energy block is very small, so it won’t become a resource that the mobile city has to rely on. Inside this box, it forces the Nightmare Beast Seed to move by exploiting its unique properties, producing energy that can be used by the terminal. Right now, with the technological means available in the apocalypse, it’s impossible to analyze it successfully.”
The energy block used extremely safe materials to imprison the Nightmare Beast Seed inside, making it incredibly sturdy. Just in case, they even added a fail-safe: if the block was ever broken, it would immediately crush the Nightmare Beast Seed inside.
“How long can a single energy block be used?” He Fang asked. This thing was a battery.
“Because of the Nightmare Beast Seed’s incredible regenerative properties, one energy block can provide enough power for day-and-night use for about three months. That’s just a conservative estimate. If you calculate it according to a mobile city’s typical work-rest cycle, one block can last about a year.”
He Fang was stunned.
A phone that could play shows, stream videos, do all that, yet not need much recharging for an entire year? That was something people in the real world could only dream of!
No wonder Zhu Yan called the Nightmare Beast Seed a new energy source. This really was defying all logic.
“Considering the current situation,” He Fang said, “the terminals can’t be connected to the internet yet. If they were, it’d probably annoy the other mobile cities. So they all have to be made like, um…” He Fang thought of the right word, “like buying discs. You can only buy the shows you want from a merchant. To prevent private sharing, every device must be unique and can only download content if it’s bought directly from a merchant.”
“Yes, I can add that restriction directly, City Lord,” Zhu Yan nodded. “These devices are already being made to the highest standard we can achieve at the moment. Later on, if you need, we can adjust them for individuals or even upgrade them. If the situation allows, we could even enable an online function.”
Zhu Yan spoke so lightly about it, but He Fang only felt his brain buzzing, overwhelmed by shock and delight.
“And… and one more thing…” He Fang thought for a moment and added another request. “Not just movies, series, and songs, could we… could we also add some games in there, too?”
He Fang had a strong obsession with games. Even though the screens right now were simple, at the very least, things like Tetris, board games, and other small games could be made, right?
“Games?” Zhu Yan thought for a moment and said, “That’s not hard. But if that’s the case, we’ll need to build up a supply of games. We could even open some large game companies to develop them.”
He Fang’s eyes lit up instantly.
With this, the entire apocalypse would undergo a huge change!
In this end-of-the-world reality where everyone was just barely surviving, people could finally have some spiritual entertainment.
This whole line of research was the result of the entire research institute’s work. He Fang, feeling delighted, waved his hand and directly allocated funding to the institute from his own private vault.
He Fang started hiring some “terminal merchants” within the main city. These would be the people who would take the shows, movies, or songs that had already been filmed and go out to sell them. When the time came, the Ministry of Finance would set prices based on the current market.
Right now, He Fang only sells these in the three cities, with the main buyers being Angel City and Hope City.
The moment the terminals were released, everyone went crazy. The instant Angel City’s people saw their dream realized, He Fang watched as Angel City’s residents’ happiness index skyrocketed, surpassing Hope City’s in an instant.
People in the main city already had TVs, networks, and phones, so they saw this more as something novel than necessary. But Hope City and Angel City had never seen anything like it. One by one, they all turned into screen addicts.
Farmers even bought neckband terminals so they could listen to music while working in the fields. Because of this, the residents’ happiness index kept soaring, reaching a level that left He Fang speechless.
Angel City practically exploded with talent in the realm of entertainment and culture. For the first time, He Fang realized that Angel City’s talents were all focused here. Countless interesting videos and films emerged, though the industry was still young and the quality uneven, with so many people involved, there were bound to be some real masterpieces.
At this time, in Angel City, the main city’s NPCs suddenly became incredibly popular. Unlike the wild NPCs, who always looked a bit rough and casual, the main city’s NPCs always had better looks and more perfect figures, an attractiveness that Hope City and Angel City couldn’t even begin to compete with. Angel City, which had always pursued beauty, immediately began trying to recruit people from the main city into the entertainment industry.
Yes, the entertainment industry. Ever since He Fang wrote similar information into “Ruins Without Restart”, Angel City’s NPCs had simply branched out into their own unique path, even spending a fortune to establish entertainment companies and then scouring everywhere for scripts.
This was an industry that had once declined in “Ruins Without Restart”, but now it was rising again. Right now, the works only circulated within the three cities, yet they were already managing to break even, never mind when they would be pushed out to other mobile cities in the future.
He Fang’s pilot rollout was also meant to see if they could pick out high-quality works from the flood of uneven ones and then have terminal merchants take those out to sell. Of course, in the beginning, he had to ensure absolute quality to more easily capture the market.
The only thing He Fang felt thankful for was that this apocalypse was set in the future, not the past. At least everyone understood what “entertainment” meant. Otherwise, if the setting had been ancient times, He Fang felt he might have been rejected by the world itself as some strange heretic.
At the same time, the main city’s design institute finally produced a complete renovation plan for Angel City. Over this period, Angel City’s situation had stabilized. He Fang wasn’t a professional when it came to renovation blueprints, but he did put forward one request.
It was about Zhu Yan’s idea of using Nightmare Beast seeds as a new energy source. He trusted Zhu Yan and what he developed, so around Angel City, He Fang specifically set aside an area to test the feasibility of using Nightmare Beast seeds as an energy source. Just in case, he also had that area fitted with new signal blockers.
Zhu Yan listened to He Fang’s idea and didn’t object, so the grand renovation of Angel City officially began.
Because of Angel City’s unique traits, compared to Hope City’s livable environment, Angel City needed distinctiveness more than comfort. He Fang had scoured the internet for a huge number of photos and wrote them into “Ruins Without Restart”. Angel City’s strong artistic talent was instantly ignited, and the whole renovation was in full swing. He Fang watched as Angel City became more and more beautiful before his eyes.
Now that both Angel City and Hope City had their own clear identities and the barriers between them had made people reluctant to interact, suddenly, the road between them started seeing more and more traffic. Seeing this, He Fang decided to widen the road to make exchanges even easier.
