"Master will disappear from this World just like the original Commander, but the Dragon Knight will stay here. Master can do so..."
For once, the System offered Su Chen a piece of advice, likely suggesting that the Dragon Knight assist Yun Ru in becoming the next Commander. With a message from Su Chen, the current Commander, the likelihood of Yun Ru assuming the next Commander's role was high.
"So, she's to create the World of her dreams?"
Su Chen smiled, finding the idea quite agreeable.
After settling matters here, the System transported Su Chen back to his original location, his Command Room.
Surveying the familiar space, Su Chen felt a wave of nostalgia for that World, having spent considerable time there.
"System, what about my reward?" Su Chen suddenly remembered. After all, he had toiled hard on his missions, all for solving the issue of the expanding Red Alert Empire and the increasingly difficult communications, right?
"Your reward has been issued, please receive it, Master."
Looking around and seeing nothing, Su Chen suspected the System might be fooling him.
"That's odd, this wasn't on my computer before. Could this be related to the System's reward?"
As this thought crossed his mind, Su Chen instinctively clicked on the icon. In an instant, his surroundings changed, and he found himself in the sky!
"What...where is this? Have I traveled through time again?"
Looking down, his expression tightened. He saw two armies facing off below, and, most crucially, he was all too familiar with them.
They were the Soviet Union Camps or Factions and the Allied Forces Camps or Factions!
Various tanks and military units on the ground made Su Chen's head spin, while the sky was dominated by massive Kirov Airships and assorted Fighter Jets. A battle was on the verge of breaking out!
"System, what is this? I asked for a communication device, why have you given me a holographic Red Alert game?"
It dawned on Su Chen that he hadn't physically traveled here; at most, it was a strand of his consciousness that had entered. The sensation was bizarre.
He could still control his real body, but he could also perceive everything in this virtual World, as though he'd split into two individuals.
"Master, this is your communication device. Anyone within the Red Alert Empire can access this Red Alert World. It's not just for gaming; you can conduct various transactions. Communication is merely one of the most trivial features here."
After hearing the System's explanation, Su Chen finally grasped the impressiveness of "Red Alert World"!
Yun Ru had mentioned how incredible the Star Peak Empire's virtual world was, accessible within a Large Galaxy. It seemed similar to Red Alert World.
But note, and this is crucial (blackboard tap), the test-worthy part:
The System mentioned that Red Alert World was operational within the Red Alert Empire. Currently, the Empire's reach was not extensive, not even encompassing a single Large Galaxy. But what about later, when the Red Alert Empire expands to several Empires in size?
At that time, Red Alert World's prowess would be earth-shattering!
Even the technology of Star Peak Empire could barely radiate across one Empire, but Red Alert World had no limits. It could cover the entirety of Red Alert Empire—the larger the empire, the more extensive its reach!
Su Chen took a deep breath, awestruck. The System truly was formidable.
His risk in undertaking this specific mission, perilous as it was, had indeed paid off with generous rewards!
"How is this item sold?" he asked.
After all, it was a game. Regardless, it needed a medium or platform, right? The issue was that many places didn't have a standardized device like smartphones, and making every Empire resident download the game didn't seem realistic.
Human players were one thing, but what about the species from the Universe that had just joined the Empire? They couldn't even understand human writing, so how could they manage?
Upon further thought, Su Chen realized there were too many complications.
"Any medium capable of data storage will suffice—storage cards, USB drives, and so forth."
"What? Can these devices really hold the entire Red Alert World?" Su Chen was astonished.
To him, Red Alert World, being such an incredible game, must require immense storage space. If it weren't for the System-provided computer, he'd doubt its ability to operate the game.
Even the best computers on Earth probably couldn't handle it. If Alice were tasked with decoding Red Alert World, he feared her persona would collapse.
"All interpretative rights belong to the System."
Su Chen grimaced, understanding this statement. In other words, whatever the System did was considered reasonable.
Since the System had put it that way, Su Chen decided not to dwell on these matters any longer.
He looked downwards, where both sides had started clashing, the impact far more thrilling than when he used to play Red Alert! The cannons of various tanks and the performances of different troops, along with the aerial bombardments from the supreme Kirov Airship, were exhilarating beyond words!
This was a game meant for men!
After the battle, Su Chen found himself in a vast white space, facing two doors.
The door on the left was labeled "Game," and the one on the right, "Life."
Su Chen approached and touched the left door. Instantly, information flowed into his mind, providing details about this door.
The "Game" door, as the name suggested, led to gameplay. It supported both single-player and multiplayer modes. However, since Su Chen was the only one in Red Alert World, multiplayer was not an option. He could only engage in single-player mode.
Apart from these, there was also a random mode. Everything from camps or factions and available troops or weapons was entirely left to chance.
Most tricky of all, even the number of enemies and their affiliations were randomized, contributing to a wholly unpredictable mode.
"System, if everyone is playing Red Alert, they're assuming the identity of a Commander, right? Are all the related data and weapons within identical to what I have?" Su Chen asked seriously.
This was no trivial matter. If ill-intentioned individuals could glean all the intelligence about Red Alert Empire through Red Alert World, Su Chen would suffer a tremendous loss.
"Players have the option to assume the identity of a Commander or that of a specific type of troop. Both single-player and multiplayer modes offer this choice. However, Master, please be assured that all units within Red Alert World have been modified and are definitely not the current versions from Red Alert Empire. One more thing, Master, game and life can be kept separate." (To be continued)
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