Chapter 1360: A Technology on the Verge of Obsolescence
"Completely replicating a person is inherently very difficult. Setting aside some technical challenges, the clone itself also needs the same amount of time as a normal person to grow. Otherwise, it's merely someone who looks similar. If we want the clone to enter the Secondary City to complete the genetic disease medicine research, we must ensure every clone has received a normal education."
"This is very difficult," Dr. Duo Er said. "Not to mention that most game districts nowadays don't allow legalized cloning. Even if external conditions were met, the required resources are far more than just a bit of money. The best approach is to shorten and simplify this process."
"Shortening the growth process and simplifying the education process—the best way is to do genetic reprogramming, modifying part of the genes to allow rapid growth, even implanting memories to acquire knowledge... But this brings new problems. If you're pursuing maximum profit through genetic reprogramming, why bother cloning at all? You could just operate on a new individual, complete the first step, and let the individual grow freely."
"Only those with special needs would go to such great lengths to breed clones, and you've already seen the shortcomings of clones."
After Dr. Duo Er finished speaking, he let out a long sigh. "Cloning is a technology on the verge of obsolescence for the developed game world. People in the game have long lifespans, and if evolutionary aftereffects appear, it means the entire body has problems—not something that can be solved by replacing organs."
"There are also some delusional people who challenge the boundaries of human ethics for certain purposes," Xu Huo said.
Dr. Duo Er felt the implication. "I remember my purpose very clearly."
Xu Huo let out an ambiguous "mm." It was clear that some clones—Dr. Duo Er didn't know about the existence of other clones, but some did.
The fake player was probably specifically responsible for retrieving clones. He wondered if the real Dr. Duo Er was still continuously updating the technology, trying to use this roundabout way to save his own kind.
"Let's go." Xu Huo patted his pants and stood up. "Let's get to the Secondary City as quickly as possible. That way, your mission is complete, and my mission is complete."
"Do I not need to go back into that painting frame?" Dr. Duo Er even felt it was safer inside.
"Afraid you'll die from suffocation." Xu Huo gave him a new set of protective suit and face mask. "Don't take it off unless necessary. Try to survive until the Secondary City."
Dr. Duo Er twitched the corner of his mouth, as if trying to smile, but in the end, he couldn't manage it. He just looked back at the corpse on the ground that looked exactly like him, then was lifted and carried away by the balloon strings floating in the air.
Xu Huo was more efficient traveling alone. With defensive items in place, getting through the Stairway to Heaven wasn't too difficult. Plus, by sensing the surrounding environment in advance, he avoided some mutated plants, animals, and players. By the evening of the second day, they had reached the edge of the Stairway to Heaven.
Here, the number of players increased significantly, especially players from outer zones. Many were lingering around. Just before coming out, Xu Huo had Dr. Duo Er hide back in the painting frame. As long as it wasn't for too long, he should be able to hold out.
After creating some signs of a fight on himself, he stepped out of the Stairway to Heaven. Even though he was alone, he was still stopped by several players, who observed him from near and far.
"Something wrong?" Xu Huo looked up and asked.
A man with a ponytail directly in front of him smiled and said, "Brother, you came out alone? Did you bring anyone? Getting into the Secondary City isn't easy."
Xu Huo looked ahead. Less than five hundred meters away was the protective wall of the Secondary City.
"Don't think it's that close. Plenty of people want to intercept you halfway, whether you brought someone or not," the ponytail man continued. "How about we team up and go in together?"
"Are you clearance players?" Xu Huo said with a slight smile. "Forced team-up is a good tactic. No matter who's carrying Dr. Duo Er, one person clears, the whole team clears."
"But how are you so sure I'm heading into the city, and not coming out from inside?"
The group was stunned, momentarily at a loss. But the next second, Xu Huo vanished from his spot. In a single flash, he was already standing on the protective wall of the Secondary City.
Looking down, the Secondary City appeared even more desolate than the First City. It was visibly impoverished, with a pervasive dullness. The entire city, except for the massive blue protective barrier in the southeast corner, had almost no color anywhere else.
That protective barrier was very lively, with constant sounds of fighting coming from it. People in the city were mostly fleeing from that direction, hiding in nearby buildings. In most places, aside from players, there were no ordinary people left walking the streets. Strong winds blew continuously through the city, sending old advertisements, old newspapers, and old maps flying everywhere.
Xu Huo casually grabbed a map and found that the area covered by the protective barrier was exactly the location of the Winter Wind Laboratory.
A stone landed at his feet. Behind a door that didn't look very sturdy, a haggard-looking woman was desperately pushing a child back behind the door, apologizing, "The child doesn't understand, please forgive us," while scolding the child to behave.
"Bad guy! Bad guy!" The child, flailing his arms and legs, struggled toward Xu Huo, pulling away from his mother's hand and shouting at the top of his lungs, "Bad guy! Get lost!"
Xu Huo glanced at them and left.
In fact, the ordinary people hiding on the streets were far from friendly in their gazes toward the outer zone players. But he soon understood why. About a hundred meters away, a player was chasing another player while simultaneously contacting his companion, "My nine o'clock direction, three people are carrying Dr. Duo Er. Don't go head-to-head with them. Dr. Duo Er isn't wearing a protective suit—a bit of poison gas is enough to kill him! I'll hold off the people here, you guys move fast!"
Xu Huo looked to the other side. Indeed, three people were escorting a man with disguised features. Within moments, they were pursued by three other players. The two sides exchanged blows for only a few seconds before two more groups appeared nearby. These people attacked each other on sight, all targeting the Dr. Duo Er under protection.
"Killing is much easier than protecting," said a burly man carrying a massive sword as tall as a person. He slashed through two barriers in one go and charged straight to Dr. Duo Er. "This clearance spot is mine!"
The player responsible for protecting Dr. Duo Er stepped forward to block the strike, but the next second, he was kicked to the ground by the burly man, spitting blood. The burly man seemed to enjoy having someone kneeling before him and said smugly, "There's no way you're getting into the Winter Wind Laboratory anyway. Since you can't clear the instance, why throw your life away?"
With that, he chopped off the player's head, and the swing of his blade splattered blood all over Dr. Duo Er's face.
Under everyone's gaze, Dr. Duo Er wiped the blood off his face, his eyes widening in terror. Then, he stiffly fell backward...
"Damn it!"
(End of Chapter)