Chapter Thirteen: The Philosophy Behind Virtual World Design

Chen Nian did not continue pressing for answers. Whether he truly suffered from dissociative schizophrenia, once they returned to the real world, Chen Nian would have his own ways to investigate. The voice in his mind seemed to understand his intentions and fell silent.

...

Their exploration lasted three hours.

After three hours, the three of them regrouped.

"Chen, Hu, did you two discover anything unusual?"

Li was the first to speak.

Hu shook his head slightly.

"Nothing special, just some unfamiliar plants and animals... But if I must mention something, there is one thing that strikes me as odd."

"What is it?" Li asked in a low voice.

"We've been in this world for more than five hours now, yet I haven't felt the slightest urge to urinate..."

At this point, Hu scratched his head and glanced cautiously at the other two.

"I haven't either," Chen Nian said directly.

Hearing this, Hu breathed a sigh of relief. He had feared the problem was unique to him.

Li said nothing, but his expression suggested he was aware of the issue as well.

Chen Nian pondered briefly and explained, "This is actually easy to understand.

After all, such things are a burden for intelligent beings like us.

When the aliens designed this metaverse, there was no need to include bodily functions like this.

They could simply use technology to transform food or water directly into the substances we need to sustain life.

To give a similar example: when humans construct tourism-oriented metaverses, the landscapes are crafted to be extremely realistic, but we don’t go so far as to design mosquitoes or other pests for authenticity.

As for the animal droppings in the forest... those belong to NPCs. They're not like us."

"So that's how it is," Hu realized.

Li nodded, accepting Chen Nian's explanation.

"If there's nothing else to report, let's hurry back."

"Alright."

...

Another hour passed, and the three returned to the main group.

Although the main group hadn't gone exploring, they hadn't been idle.

In just a few hours, they had produced a variety of tools—stone spears, stone axes, ropes...

Additionally, it was worth mentioning that the two bodies of the executed criminals had turned green by now; no one knew what they'd been through.

---

"Coach Li, here, this has been confirmed safe to eat—share it among yourselves."

Seeing the three return, a space corps soldier approached proactively, handing over three fruits resembling dates.

After such a long period of exploration, the three were naturally thirsty and hungry.

Though each received only one date, in these circumstances, any food was welcome.

None of them hesitated; each took one.

The dates had little flavor, and after a few casual chews, they swallowed them.

Immediately, their expressions turned strange.

The instant the dates entered their stomachs, they felt remarkably satiated, as if they'd eaten a full meal.

"This..." Hu looked shocked, hardly believing it.

The space corps soldier grinned mysteriously.

"We call these 'power fruits'—one is as good as a whole meal.

You might not believe it, but in this alien metaverse, the species are inverted! The smaller the fruit, the more filling it is! The tinier, the higher the calories!"

He gestured at two baskets woven from vines nearby.

One basket was filled with these date-sized power fruits, and the other held larger, rainbow-colored fruits, each the size of an apple.

"Those fruits are non-toxic too, but guess what?

Damn, I ate two or three, and I was only ten percent full!

But to be fair, those big fruits are fragrant and sweet—better than anything in the real world. Just not filling, and they don't quench thirst much either."

Chen Nian gazed at the two baskets, thought briefly, and grasped the underlying principle.

It was another matter of virtual world design philosophy.

Since this was a top-tier virtual world, eating shouldn't be a burden.

If people were busy, having such food meant a single bite would suffice.

But if they were set on enjoying a feast, their stomachs shouldn't be a constraint.

Thus, gourmet foods were designed not to be filling, allowing for indulgence.

After Chen Nian shared his insight, many around him nodded in sudden understanding.

"These aliens really know how to enjoy life!

But why didn't they also solve the drinking water problem?

Power fruits fill you up, but they don't quench thirst!" the space corps soldier lamented.

"Maybe they don't drink water," Chen Nian replied offhandedly.

After all, the structure of aliens was different from Earth's humans—who knew if they needed water? Or perhaps they had other ways to address it.

...

Meanwhile, atop a small mound a hundred meters away, Wang Yinlong was anxiously awaiting.

---

After waiting about ten minutes, a group emerged from the forest.

Seeing them, Wang Yinlong's furrowed brow instantly relaxed.

This team belonged to the Special Operations Squad of the First Detachment—he had sent them out specifically to search for water sources.

Others faced distance limitations; this group did not.

Others had to steer clear of anything suspicious; this group didn't need to.

There was no choice—water was vital.

Though a few tricks could procure some clean water, there were too many advance team members—those small amounts weren’t nearly enough.

Not to mention, there were many elderly in the group.

If these old folks went too long without water, they wouldn’t manage.

And he had promised the corps commander he’d bring them all back.

"Well? Ye Qiang, did you find water?"

Before the team drew near, Wang Yinlong strode forward.

"Found it," replied a young man with dark skin and a buzz cut.

"Where is it? How far from here?"

"It's northwest... about seventeen or eighteen kilometers away. It’s a small lake, around five hundred meters long and four hundred meters wide."

Hearing this, a smile spread across Wang Yinlong’s face.

Even if the lake averaged only three meters deep, that was fifty to sixty thousand cubic meters of water.

Enough not just for the advance team, but even if the entire space corps arrived later, it would suffice for a while.

But just then, the buzz-cut young man’s tone shifted.

"But... there might be an issue with the lake.

Captain, here's what happened.

We found the lake because we encountered a calf-like creature in the forest.

We chased it for some way, tiring it out, and then followed it secretly—only then did we find the lake.

But...

As it approached the lake to drink, something startled it. It spun around and bolted away.

So, I suspect there might be something in the lake.

To be safe, I didn’t get closer to investigate; I brought the team back to report first."

Wang Yinlong nodded slightly.

"You did the right thing. Odds are, there’s something in there.

But there’s no choice; no other teams have found water. We’ll have to set up camp near the source you found. As for whatever’s in the lake..."

Wang Yinlong’s gaze turned steely.

"Later, I’ll organize a team to deal with it!"