Chapter 301: Virtual World and Sudden Collapse

Midsummer.

Afternoon.

A bustling district of a colonial metropolis.

On the ground, traffic surged as drivers followed physical traffic lights or holographic signs, weaving between blocks.

In the aerial corridors, variously sized and purposed airships moved in orderly fashion…

One could say that the overwhelming majority obeyed the rules.

For example, a purple matte‑finished, streamlined, two‑door, four‑seat airship is currently speeding illegally in an area outside the corridor.

The driver piloting this airship, while reckless with his own safety, also endangers other drivers and the citizens of the area.

The driver may have a mental issue, but the most likely possibility is "drunk driving".

However, before the driver could continue his drunk driving, two patrol airships from the local security bureau swiftly approached and flanked him, then caused a slight spatial distortion—an indistinct field—that forcibly forced the purple airship to slow down.

In the end, the security officers escorted the suspected drunk driver, vehicle and all, out of the area, lifted him to a dedicated lane, and headed toward the security bureau, preparing a "friendly" interrogation.

Below this area,

On the aerial walkway that pedestrians use to cross the street, a group of young boys—only sixteen or seventeen—dressed in short‑sleeve shirts and shorts, all high school students, were present.

One of the sturdier boys his age, with a crew cut, looked up at the scene of the security officers subduing the drunk driver, and, unable to contain his temper, complained to his classmates:

"Tsk, it's already 2090, and we still have these threats to social stability? They should be severely punished. If drunk driving were executed by firing squad, I'm sure no one would dare to drive after drinking!"

"Whoa! Tangmu, your thinking is dangerous," a classmate shrugged. "Moreover, the world is unpredictable; how can you be absolutely sure no one will dare to keep drunk driving?"

"Exactly. With your aggressive stance, I think you could finally become the Astate you've long dreamed of," another classmate said.

"Go on," the boy named Tangmu said with a disdainful wave, but he didn't argue further, continued toward the end of the walkway, muttering:

"Just pretend I said nothing earlier, okay."

"Don't sulk, okay? Later I'll give you an orange outfit, how about that?"

"Huh? Which one?"

"It's the Hunter‑Man series trench coat…"

After a brief interlude, the high schoolers left the aerial walkway, arrived at the bustling commercial street opposite, and headed toward their destination.

Meanwhile,

Holographic screens along both sides of the commercial street displayed various product ads, while the main entrance of the large mall screened highlights and trailers of current or upcoming movies.

From the ubiquitous screens, one learns that this colony is called 'Kogeler', and the local date is June 25, 2089.

2089…

The border‑sector incident sparked by the fallen goddess Pallas Athena has been three Earth years, its impact now minimized, and the Mar star system has long been incorporated into human territory.

The Mar people, whose faces and bodies are strikingly human‑like, announced three years ago that they were humanity's 'allies', and their impending integration into human institutions indeed caused a stir in society.

But it only lasted for a while.

In fact, humanity has long grown accustomed to such events, even preparing to gradually assimilate increasingly friendly races into human life and systems.

What netizens and people find worth discussing are the Mar people's appearance and Spiritual Energy talent.

Umbrella publicly disclosed it, while the White Queen covertly guided and spread it, causing 'Spiritual Energy' and 'anomalous phenomena' to surface in the public eye within three short years.

The term 'Spiritual User' shifted from unfamiliar to commonplace, and some netizens bluntly asked whether Spiritual Energy is a 'special ability'.

Initially, many opportunists and criminals exploited the 'Spiritual Energy' gimmick to defraud and extort money.

But as hospitals across regions began offering examinations that assess Spiritual Level, and after official intervention, opportunists and criminals either ended up in prison or vanished like a whistle, no longer able to run rampant.

As for 'anomalous phenomena'…

Honestly, everything the authorities announce publicly or covertly is just 'small‑scale events' for humanity fully in the interstellar colonial era—mere fodder for after‑dinner conversation.

Of course, Umbrella never publicly revealed any high‑risk anomalies that could warp common sense and send chills down people's spines, so society wasn't greatly shaken.

At this moment, the commercial street.

Coincidentally, an Umbrella cosmetics ad was playing, featuring a Mar woman whose ears differed from humans but whose face and figure met human aesthetic standards.

A passing high schooler, slightly shorter, sighed, "It would be great to have a wife like an elf."

???

The remark instantly put all companions on 'alert', each turning their heads with a 'you're off' look at the boy who just spoke.

Then.

A classmate picked up the thread: "If you go to the border sector six hundred light‑years away, you might, if lucky, meet a 'elf grandma'. Online sources say their adult age translates to 270–275 years for us humans."

The boy named Tangmu made a fist‑clasp gesture, gritted his teeth and agreed, "I don't care whether humanoid mutants are beautiful or ugly; if they're hostile to humans, they deserve a few bullets to taste."

"Alright, everyone," the tall boy at the front halted, turned, and shouted to the group:

"Settle down. Right now we need to figure out how to clear the dungeon! Since today's double experience and rewards are on, let's get pumped!"

"Whoa~!" the high schoolers exclaimed enthusiastically.

While refocusing on the game, they also entered an internet café called 'Boya'.

The internet café industry hasn't been ruthlessly eliminated by rapid tech advances; on the contrary, it remains vibrant to this day.

Especially for students who like to form squads and game during winter and summer breaks.

However, today's internet cafés differ greatly from those of the past…

Inside, the décor is tidy and bright, lacking angry shouts, and there isn't a single computer; instead, rows of adjacent private booths replace them.

The owner behind the front desk, seeing a group of young high schoolers enter, tapped the counter with his right hand and said lazily:

"Everyone, come over for a scan."

Upon hearing that,

The high schoolers fell silent at once, hurried to the front desk area, and in turn placed their hands on the scanner mounted above the desk, resembling a black tablet.

Soon, the owner saw the holographic screen display the students' gender, age, and name information.

After confirming everyone was at least sixteen years old, the boss then said to the group of high school students: "How long will you play?"

"Four hours." The tall male student answered first.

"Correct."

"That's right."

The other students responded in turn.

After learning the specific time, the boss directly used biometric information to complete the payment, then reminded: "All right, you can freely choose a machine slot, but once chosen it cannot be changed midway, don't forget"

"Thanks, boss!"

Seeing the procedures completed successfully, the high school students thanked the boss and immediately began selecting the "single rooms" with green lights above.

Pulled open the sliding door.

What came into view was a mid-range configuration virtual reality set currently on the market, belonging to the immersive type.

Below was a platform similar to a treadmill, with a helmet placed above, and on the left and right hung physical "controllers" resembling rifles, pistols, rocket launchers, and greatswords.

Furthermore, the helmet of this set stimulates scalp nerves to simulate various tactile sensations in the "virtual world"; it poses no safety issues, but the operator can also choose to disable this function.

If it were the highest-specification set on the market, it would include a skin-tight "simulation suit" to achieve absolute immersion.

Of course, the price is also enough to keep ordinary people at a distance; even this mid-range configuration before us is not a "toy" that ordinary high school students can afford, and parents generally would not indulge their children with such virtual reality sets.

Therefore, internet cafes are their best choice.

Moreover, those who are at least sixteen years old are legally compliant under the UEG's stipulated conditions, merely with a time limit of not exceeding four hours.

Not long after, all the high school students had selected their respective machine slots.

After closing the sliding door, Tangmu walked onto the treadmill-like platform, fastened the fixed and safety belts, took off the helmet to adjust the fit, then used the automatic holographic screen appearing before him to select the game, put on the helmet, and prepared to go to the agreed location to meet up with his companions.

Just…

As soon as the helmet screen lit up, it quickly returned to dimness, and through the mirror-like reflection, Tangmu could clearly see his somewhat dazed face.

Crashed?

Shouldn't be…

Holding his doubts, he took off the helmet, and just as he was about to undo the fixed and safety belts, a sudden "Boom!" sound echoed all around, and the ground could not help but undergo violent trembling.

?!!

"This is…ah!!"

Before he could shout "What's happening!", he let out an involuntary loud cry due to the strong sensation of falling and the collapsing ground.

Outside the single room…

Or rather, outside the internet cafe, and even the low-rise shop building housing the internet cafe, were rapidly collapsing downward; in almost an instant, the entire building had already "disappeared".

The rolling thick smoke produced by the collapse spread outward in all directions.

!!

This sudden change left people walking by the street and strolling about unable to grasp the situation for a moment, instinctively fleeing the collapsed area and the thick smoke.

However, there were always some bold and enthusiastic people who, despite witnessing the entire collapse process, disregarded the smoke obstruction, covered their mouths and noses, and went "against the flow" to rush toward the collapsed area.

After the thick smoke gradually dissipated.

The enthusiastic crowd standing at the edge of the collapsed area, looking downward, could see that underground systems such as the subway and sewers were also severely damaged.

What caused all this was not geological movement nor some human-caused accident; only at the lowest point of the collapsed area could be seen a vortex entrance, like warships and vessels sailing into a rift space, emitting a faint blue light.

Visually estimated, the diameter was about thirty meters.

Vortex entrance?

How can we help?

A group of enthusiastic people looked at each other.

At that moment, two security patrol aircraft nearby, responding to the General Command's order, flew straight to the airspace over this district.

They landed in an open area.

Four security officers equipped with mechanical exoskeletons and protective gear immediately disembarked from the aircraft and dispersed the gradually gathering crowd of onlookers.

One of the security officers walked to the edge of the collapsed area, using the helmet's external speaker to loudly warn the enthusiastic crowd to leave quickly; when he also reached the edge and looked down to assess the situation, he likewise showed surprise and involuntarily exclaimed:

"My heavens…"

Subsequently, the security officer immediately opened the communication channel: "General Command, this is KE22379 responding to the collapse incident at the 116th Commercial Street in Metropolis 09 District; we are uploading the scene situation and requesting more specialized personnel to assist in handling this incident."

"Understood." The communication immediately returned a reply from a female operator: "More security officers are en route to the collapse site; please first stabilize the scene and evacuate the crowd."

"KE22379 received."

Next, more and more aircraft from the Security Bureau, Fire Department, and Trauma Emergency Team arrived at this district.

The security officers set up the isolation zone, while the trauma team treated some of the crowd injured due to panic; however, the firefighters could not directly carry out rescue operations.

After the collapse incident, within five minutes, a large transport aircraft painted black, with red-white umbrella emblems on its sides and underside, appeared in the airspace here, escorted by two atmospheric assault craft.

They lowered altitude.

Before touching down, the assault craft first opened their side doors, disembarking more than twenty soldiers wearing special-model powered armor and holding custom laser rifles, who rushed to the edge of the collapsed area.

Immediately after, the two assault craft rapidly ascended and began to circle on alert.

The large transport aircraft then came to a complete stop on the ground, lowered its rear and side doors, to allow numerous technicians holding silver equipment cases, as well as several individuals in suits and sunglasses, to exit the cabin.

At this point, the "soldiers" had taken over the blockade of the collapsed area's edge from some dazed security officers, facilitating the technicians' analysis and investigation of the "vortex" at the lowest end.

Meanwhile, those few individuals in suits and sunglasses headed straight for the temporary command center set up by the security officers; the leader, after pulling a chip-shaped exclusive phone from his suit pocket, displayed his identity information to a security officer sergeant and said coldly:

"Umbrella's Emergency Response Department is taking full charge of this incident; sergeant, have your people stay clear of the collapsed area, assist us in maintaining the blockade, and prevent civilians from mistakenly entering this place."

"Emergency Response Department..." The sergeant, after confirming via his holographic glasses that this suit-wearing man's identity was correct, had no further doubts and immediately nodded in reply:

"All right, then afterward we'll leave it to you experts."

(End of chapter)