1.3 You Must Be Extraordinary

The maintenance platform flipped down and then back up. In the blink of an eye, a brand-new AE86 came into view.

Wu Chen opened the car door. The LCD dashboard, multimedia central control screen, human-machine interaction, multifunctional seats—everything was fully equipped. The old gasoline car had been upgraded to a new energy electric vehicle. This confirmed that at some point in the past, the AE86 had indeed undergone an upgrade. Now, it had been elevated to a new node for the price of a single Shelter Coin. Whether this was the latest node or the most recent save file remained unknown.

Wu Chen believed that to achieve a "storyline node upgrade," at least two conditions had to be met. First, the object had to be a Shelter creation, not a creation of the story world; second, it must have been upgraded by the Architect, or what could be called a "Shelter upgrade." Both were absolutely necessary.

As for "save files," they were easy to understand. Each time a certain stage of the storyline was completed, Architect Zero would issue a public announcement reporting the "solidification completion rate" as 1%, 2%, 3%, and so forth. This "solidification completion rate" was likely the official term for saving storyline nodes, what players commonly referred to as "saving."

What Wu Chen did not yet know was that each Shelter creation had its own save file. It could be independently upgraded without interfering with the existing storyline. Speaking of which, as the only Purple-Gold VIP in the Shelter and a lord-level veteran player, Wu Chen had spent almost all of his time in his previous nine fire transmissions traveling through various storyline worlds, busy harvesting resource points, and had neglected to deeply develop the Shelter’s rules.

Each time his master, Butterfly Dance, came to dormitory 208 to transmit fire, it could simply be understood as creating a new save file for Wu Chen, establishing a new character setting.

In fact, during previous adventures, whenever Wu Chen converted the Tu-160 nuclear-powered bomber into a dedicated Shelter, Architect Zero had asked if he wanted to spend 100 resource points to enhance its attributes, as the exclusive Shelter was slightly behind his timeline.

That was essentially a standalone upgrade for the Tu-160. But back then, the Shelter had not yet fractured; everything was still managed by the Architect.

At this very moment.

Knocking on the hood, Baili Yan smiled: “Superalloy car shell.”

Wu Chen selected the central control screen and opened the hood. Baili Yan’s beautiful eyes suddenly lit up: “Superconducting motor, micro nuclear battery, driving supercomputer, and many other unknown high-tech components. 0326, you must be extraordinary.”

A single upgrade had brought such a tremendous improvement to the AE86. It was easy to imagine that Wu Chen’s past within the Shelter must have been extraordinarily powerful, with a reputation known to all.

The player couple thought the same. Encountering a well-known veteran player by chance, their journey ahead should be much easier through mutual aid.

After all, saving others was also a way to save oneself. This simple truth was well known not only to VIP players but even to newcomers entering the Shelter.

“Perhaps.” Unfortunately, Wu Chen had completely forgotten much of the past. So had the other players. Maybe only by re-entering the Shelter could they recover everything lost, including their memories.

Taking a deep breath, steadying his mind, Wu Chen activated the human-machine interaction: “Hello.”

“Greetings, Master,” the vehicle’s onboard AI responded immediately.

“Who are you?” Wu Chen asked again.

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“I am the onboard AI. Designated NHK-S.A.F-WA.I05. Born at the New Hong Kong Energy Group’s S.A.F Aerospace Factory, Wasp Model 05 experimental unit. Creator: Electric Arc,” said the AI, the only record in the onboard database.

“Simply put?” Wu Chen asked again.

“Wasp Aerospace Fighter, Model 05 onboard AI,” the AI replied.

“From onboard fighter to onboard car,” Wu Chen understood. Then he tried to ask what was on his mind: “Is New Hong Kong still around?”

“No records in database.” The AI, like Wu Chen, had most of its database deleted. Perhaps this was one of the costs of standalone upgrades.

“NHK-S.A.F-WA.I05, can you be renamed?”

“Please provide a new name, Master.” It was certainly possible.

“Let’s call you ‘Ai Yi’,” Wu Chen decided, using the phonetic transliteration of “AE” from AE86 as the AI’s name.

“New name ‘Ai Yi’ recorded.” The onboard AI rapidly switched its identity. Whether Ai Yi would still be present after a second upgrade remained unknown.

“Maybe it will,” Baili Yan said with a smile as she settled into the passenger seat.

“Why do you say that?” Wu Chen asked.

“Think of this car as having two parts: software and hardware. Perhaps the software and hardware can be upgraded separately.” Baili Yan’s understanding of the Shelter rules seemed deeper than Wu Chen’s—at least regarding this car.

“That makes sense,” Wu Chen said happily.

Powered by a nuclear battery, the energy supply was endless. Wu Chen no longer had to worry about fuel consumption and could travel continuously without stopping. The advantages were obvious—and it had only cost one coin. Truly a bargain.

Wu Chen thanked the player couple and agreed to travel together. The couple drove a Maxus RV. Having experienced the AE86 upgrade, Wu Chen knew well that their entry-level RV should not be underestimated. Perhaps it could also be upgraded to a super RV for just one coin. Moreover, it was said only VIP players could embark on this self-rescue journey. In other words, the lowest level of players entering this storyline world were VIPs.

The RV had the essential onboard radio, and Baili Yan’s car did too. Wu Chen integrated it into the central console, allowing the four to chat while traveling.

Their conversation mostly revolved around the Exile Land, the terminus of the 404 Ring Expressway.

Rumor had it that only players who safely arrived at the Exile Land could initiate the journey to return to the Shelter and perform the rescue. They also needed to accumulate a large number of Shelter Coins to complete the final redemption. The player couple had heard through hearsay that the Exile Land was a gathering place of monsters and strange phenomena, bustling as much as any A-level storyline world.

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It was understandable. After all, players in the Exile Land started as VIPs. Although expelled from the Shelter due to resource depletion for various reasons, they had all once been glorious. Each had their own path and way out.

Since it was a ring expressway, the mileage couldn’t be too long. How large could an island be? Yet, even as the sun set, the end was nowhere in sight. Parking at a scenic overlook, Baili Yan said worriedly, “We’ve been frozen.”

She meant the film reel had suddenly stopped at a single frame—frozen. Here, it meant that no matter how long Wu Chen and the others drove on the 404 Expressway, they could never escape the frozen frame. The storyline could not progress.

“What do we do?” the player couple asked anxiously.

“To break the freeze, we must find a breakthrough,” Baili Yan said, though uncertain. “Advance the storyline.”

“Exactly—the storyline.” Wu Chen understood. Without finding a breakthrough, no matter how hard the four tried to move forward, it would be futile. They were stuck in a “single frame,” unable to move to the “next frame.” It was like the storyline had been paused mid-play, with no progress. This was the predicament they faced.

According to the Big Bang theory, expansion gave birth to time. The timeline created four-dimensional space—spacetime. In terms of Shelter rules: storyline lines drive the story, forming the story world. To enter the next segment of the story, one must find the “key storyline node.” This was the immediate goal for Wu Chen and the others.

As to where to begin, the four were at a loss. The thought was chilling. If they could not uncover the key storyline node, they would be frozen forever on the 404 Ring Expressway.

Recalling their day’s journey.

The service area should be the only key point.

Wu Chen shared his thoughts with the group. They decided to camp nearby and return to the service area the next day.

To see if Wu Chen’s intuition was correct.

It had to be said, lacking the Shelter newcomer’s benefits—namely, the Architect’s quest guidance—was a major drawback even for a seasoned VIP player.

Everything required personal effort and great care.

But then again, this could also be seen as a trial of redemption.