This is a very realistic issue: when a person is killed, they will die; if a person does not eat, they will starve to death.
The Gaia Z District 6123 is almost entirely sealed off.
Since Wu Piwu awakened, he has faced only this one sleep pod and a maintenance station.
Apart from various instruments and tools, there are only the various scraps obtained through the predecessors' lottery.
The issue of food has become the primary survival problem for these maintenance personnel.
To put it bluntly, they have no good feelings towards this Unified Human Government.
Although it was the Unified Human Government that revived them from their frozen state, it was only to make them work as slaves to repay their debts.
Although they are called maintenance personnel, apart from the two hundred or even two hundred fifty individuals who have a chance to reach the new homeland and become citizens, the rest will spend their lives in this cold spaceship.
As for those maintenance personnel who rank after the two hundred and fifty, most of them are either connected or have bribed their way in.
One must understand that the Unified Human Government appears to be a future democratic government, but in Wu Piwu's eyes, it is a strictly hierarchical feudal aristocratic utopian government.
The so-called citizens are also divided into levels: first-level citizens, second-level citizens, third-level citizens, and so on.
Each level has different privileges, rights, and lifespans.
So how could the maintenance personnel be willing to risk their lives to maintain such a government? Moreover, this maintenance contract is akin to usury.
As long as there is a chance, these maintenance personnel can completely avoid entering the Dream World.
After all, they are merely waiting to die, so why risk the danger of being unable to survive or die to save such a government and those who are called citizens but are actually nobles?
But still, it is a very realistic issue: the maintenance personnel must eat.
In the closed, cramped space, there is no food apart from fresh water, so they must enter the Dream World to seek survival, even if it is just for the sake of food.
Once they enter the Dream World, although they can return to Gaia after five days, there is a certain possibility of encountering Nightmares during those five days.
Even if the Nightmares are dull, encountering other strange entities in the Dream World could lead to death without a burial place.
Establishing a Sanctuary not only allows for the awakening of maintenance personnel based on the Sanctuary's level but also comes with rewards from the mainframe.
The first random lottery for a Sanctuary often yields powers from that Dream World, providing a means of self-protection.
However, once a Sanctuary is established, a first-level Sanctuary requires entering for ten days every thirty days, while a second-level Sanctuary requires entering for seven days every thirty days.
During this time, they may encounter Nightmares.
If one is determined not to enter the Dream World and allows the Sanctuary to fall into disrepair, there is a high chance of attracting second-level Nightmares, which could then penetrate into reality and kill everyone.
For example, the culprit behind the destruction of 6120 to 6122, the Pink Serpent, according to some records from predecessors, is a second-level Nightmare that penetrated from the Dream World Sanctuary!
"So I have no choice. To eat and to live, I must go to the Dream World. And to enter the Dream World, you also need power, which means establishing a Sanctuary. With a Sanctuary, you must enter the Dream World to block the Nightmares from penetrating. It's a cycle. Even if we don't want to serve the Unified Human Government, we have no other options," Wu Piwu said in a low voice.
Yamada and Xu Shilan fell silent.
Neither of them was a novice or a fool; one was a veteran of three wars, and the other was a con artist and arms dealer.
They immediately understood what Wu Piwu was saying.
They had no options.
They could either starve to death here or enter the Dream World to struggle for survival, seeking that slim chance of life.
Next, Wu Piwu introduced the two to the situation in the Dream World.
There are two ways to enter the Dream World from the mainframe: one is downward penetration.
For example, if you have a Sanctuary at baseline reality 0.9, you can use this Dream World as an anchor point to penetrate down to the Dream World at baseline reality 0.8. Similarly, if reality penetrates downward, it will go to the Dream World at baseline reality 0.9.
The second method is random penetration.
This type of penetration is truly random; you might end up in the Dream World at baseline reality 0.9 or in the Dream World at baseline reality 0.1, depending entirely on luck.
"Before awakening you, I encountered a second-level Nightmare with two predecessors. They are both dead now, and by chance, I obtained a second-level Sanctuary in the Dream World at baseline reality 0.7. You see how strong I am now; most of it comes from this second-level Sanctuary."
Wu Piwu did not hide this from the two.
Although he was somewhat wary of Xu Shilan, the three of them were essentially in the same boat.
In such a nightmare world, not cooperating sincerely would be tantamount to seeking death, so he openly showed them his attribute interface.
"Wu Piwu."
"First-level Maintenance Personnel."
"Physical Body: Second Stage, Soul: First Stage, Inspiration: Second Stage."
Wu Piwu was seeing his attribute interface for the first time after completing his enhancements.
The gains were even greater than he had expected.
Originally, his physical body was at the first stage, and his inspiration was also at the first stage, but now both have become second stage.
This means he can run as fast as Bolt, and even without moving his qi and blood, his punching power would not lose to Tyson.
His stamina and endurance are up to triathlon standards, greatly increasing his survival ability in the Dream World.
The two newcomers looked at the attribute interface, and they each summoned their own attribute interfaces to show Wu Piwu.
"Yamada."
"First-level Maintenance Personnel."
"Physical Body: Second Stage, Soul: First Stage, Inspiration: First Stage."
Yamada, being a veteran of three wars, had likely undergone some degree of genetic adjustment, and his physical body was also at the second stage.
This surprised Wu Piwu a bit, but recalling the moment when Yamada lifted the tank's cannon, his physical body indeed belonged to the second stage, though it was likely just at the edge of the second stage.
As for the other one, it surprised Wu Piwu even more.
"Xu Shilan."
"First-level Maintenance Personnel."
"Physical Body: First Stage, Soul: Second Stage, Inspiration: First Stage."
A second-stage soul!?
This was the first time Wu Piwu had seen someone with a soul above the first stage!
He had seen the attribute interfaces of the older predecessors before; some had a second-stage physical body, some had various martial arts or strange techniques, and some had a second-stage inspiration, but he had never seen anyone with a soul above the first stage!
Although he did not know what a second-stage soul meant, Wu Piwu felt that it seemed impressive!
Meanwhile, Yamada and Xu Shilan were closely observing the differences between Wu Piwu and themselves… martial arts, realms!
Even though they were both at the second stage of the physical body, Wu Piwu could easily slaughter the previous aberrant creature, while Yamada would be easily devoured by the aberrant creature.
The gap in combat power was at least tenfold!
Yamada hesitated for a moment, just about to speak, when Xu Shilan spoke first: "Brother Wu, can you teach us this martial art?"
The term "Brother Wu" coming from Xu Shilan did not seem forced, but both Wu Piwu and Yamada felt a slight shiver.
Wu Piwu nodded and said, "Of course, but let me clarify first: this martial art was obtained through the lottery when I established the first-level Sanctuary. According to the predecessors, when establishing a Sanctuary for the first time in the Dream World, the random lottery usually yields the martial arts system of that world. The mainframe might have cheated, and this martial art may suit you well. What works for me might not work for you, and I must also clarify one point in advance."
"This martial art is actually extremely dangerous to practice. All the information I know about this martial art comes directly from the mainframe, which forcibly made me memorize it. Even if I wanted to forget it, I couldn't. However, language and information are different; I can tell you about it and share my cultivation insights, but your understanding may not be the same as the original martial art in my mind. A slight difference in practice could lead to a huge deviation, and at that point, qi and blood could reverse, leading to sudden death. It's not that I'm stingy."
Yamada and Xu Shilan exchanged glances but did not bring up the martial arts matter again.
Next, Wu Piwu shared much more about the Dream World, Sanctuaries, and what he knew about various regions of Gaia.
"The Dream World originates from the Dream Network constructed by the Unified Human Government. The worlds within it are endless. As I just mentioned about baseline reality, the lower the level, the more it deviates from reality. I have only been to baseline reality 0.7; I don't know what lies beyond that."
"The rewards for each level of Sanctuary..."
"... The three methods of establishing a Sanctuary are as follows: the first is to purchase. The Sanctuary will be located within the building you purchase, making it the easiest to establish, but it also has the greatest limitations and is the most dangerous Sanctuary because it cannot move. Once a Nightmare finds it, you either escape back to reality, praying that the Nightmare is not a second-level one and cannot follow you into reality, or you fight the Nightmare to the death."
"A faction Sanctuary is located at the headquarters of your faction, but it can be moved. As long as most of your faction's members migrate away, the Sanctuary can move to another location to evade Nightmares. However, with many people, hearts are mixed; once the faction is lost, your Sanctuary will collapse, and having many people also makes it easier for Nightmares to parasitize."
"The best is the historical record Sanctuary, where reputation and fame are preserved. Wherever you are is the Sanctuary, allowing you to roam freely in that Dream World, evade Nightmares, and return at any time. However, if you encounter a second-level Nightmare face to face and choose to return, that second-level Nightmare can still come to the real world."
"... Various sectors have already fallen silent. According to predecessors, there was a period of prosperity for maintenance personnel, with many large districts having second-level and third-level Sanctuaries. Some sectors even had dozens of maintenance personnel who worked together to open several sealed passages, finding good places like canteens, medical stations, and various shopping centers. However, gradually, the personnel in these sectors disappeared. For example, the Pink Serpent I mentioned was recorded by predecessors from many shifts ago."
Wu Piwu spoke intermittently for at least two hours, his throat dry.
He went to pour a cup of fresh water and gulped it down before saying, "Basically, I've said everything I needed to say. This is what I know about this world, the Dream World, and some things I haven't recalled. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. Then you should prepare..."
Yamada and Xu Shilan both nodded.
Xu Shilan then said sweetly, "Brother Wu, are you going to take us into the Dream World?"
Wu Piwu shook his head and said, "No, you prepare yourselves. There are many miscellaneous items here, and I don't know what is useful. If you want to take something, take it. If not, rest and prepare mentally, and also store some stamina. Next, I need to take a nap to recover my strength."
"Gather in the sleep pod in twelve hours, and then..."
"We'll set off and enter the Dream World for breakfast!"
(End of Chapter)