1.19 Can Both Advance and Roll Back

Returning to the Shelter, Day 4.

The drone arrived punctually with the mocha coffee set. Wu Chen finished washing and dressing, then stepped out of the living quarters. Cotair Vetris had already set the dining table in advance.

“Good morning, Master.” Constantly connected to the base’s AI core, Cotair Vetris’s underlying source code and central database continuously optimized, her knowledge and actions multiplied, handling everything with increasing ease.

“Good morning, Vetris.” Wu Chen was in high spirits.

Regrettably, Wu Chen no longer remembered his exclusive homeworld—the chaotic millennia-old New Hong Kong—widely recognized by players as a cradle for nurturing AI life. Whether it was the city’s core, the Sark Matron enveloping the entire planet with ψ-brainwaves, the underwater base’s administrator known as the White Queen with her super biotechnological AI brain, or the countless tiny nanobots scattered across the city—all served as nodes of digital life, perpetually incubating superintelligent beings.

As the AI core that arrived early alongside Wu Chen during the initial timeline shift, AI Ai was destined to carry great expectations. Using her merely to manage the flat-base was a considerable underutilization of her potential.

It is well-known that artificial intelligence and digital life differ vastly: the former possesses intelligence, while the latter embodies wisdom.

Vetris was dedicated to managing Wu Chen’s daily needs. Many tasks didn’t require her direct involvement; the “Rock III” drone swarm—optimized through core code upgrades and hardware modifications—handled the base’s various chores efficiently.

Both mainboards and auxiliary boards came standard with drone stations. Once the tidal auxiliary board was assembled, Wu Chen would gain an additional “Tide II Drone Station” along with a set each of vector magnetic levitation engines, spatial folding modules, self-cycling systems, and wireless communication units—all perfectly compatible with the mainboard’s systems. This allowed the full exploitation of the system-integrated swarm effect.

Especially notable were two drone stations alternating day and night shifts, standing ready 24/7, making daily maintenance far more convenient. As mentioned, all types of flat-bases and their systems were derived from incomplete spaceship hulls—artifacts of the Broken City. Thus, the drone swarms were also created from original artifacts, carrying the “Guardian’s Memory.” Even the polymer consumable canisters were artifact-made. According to shelter rules, creations printed by the drone swarm also retained the Guardian’s Memory.

Detaching from the floating cube at the fitting workshop campsite, Flat-Base 0326 followed the flight path reported the previous day, heading toward the flat-base maintenance center.

Within the sprawling traveler’s camp’s interconnected orbital routes, floating flat-bases and flying vehicles crisscrossed and converged. Passing through enormous floating cubes of various designs, drone swarms frequently buzzed back and forth like the wind—most being delivery drones—attesting to the camp’s vibrant activity.

At the forging workshop F-005C section, Broken Traveler’s Camp, flat-base maintenance center.

A maintenance center navigation drone uploaded access codes. Flat-Base 0326 immediately executed the codes, entering the orbit and docking with the main structure of the maintenance center. A gigantic mechanical arm removed the tidal auxiliary board and delivered it to maintenance port 013—a square-pyramid-shaped funnel with nested square recesses that tapered downward, designed to perfectly accommodate flat-bases of varying sizes.

The first rollback cost one coin, a set price per person. As the sole Purple-Gold VIP, Wu Chen enjoyed exclusive discounts.

Paying one coin, the square recesses forming the funnel flipped like gears from top to bottom. Though the tidal flat-base appeared motionless, the aquaculture building built by the sedentary player visibly disintegrated into a cloud of light dust. Once all structures vanished, the light dust reassembled into the previous save’s building outline.

Cross-referencing with the newly built database’s flat-base data, AI Ai quickly concluded, “The previous save was a tidal power station.” In other words, before the sedentary player converted the flat-base into an aquaculture farm, the prior owner had constructed a tidal power station there.

“Has that stubborn code changed?” Wu Chen asked anxiously.

“No change.” The AI reported.

Since it was original code, there were likely multiple saves, making a perfect first attempt impossible. Wu Chen ordered, “Rollback two saves.”

The price rose to ten coins. After full payment, maintenance port 013 activated again.

Light and shadow solidified, revealing a hydrogen fuel cell factory in full detail. Hydrogen fuel cells powered biochemical robots, energy weapons, and vehicles. The T850 trader in the talent market, for example, ran on two hydrogen fuel cells, which delivered stronger and more stable output than the smaller nuclear fuel cells used by the T-800.

After all, this was a camp frequented by sci-fi players. The hydrogen fuel cell factory’s returns far surpassed those of the aquaculture plant. Player choices naturally varied. The sedentary player’s world was hardly “Terminator.” He lacked strong attachments to either the hydrogen fuel cell factory or the tidal power station. Instead, lavish seafood feasts held greater allure, explaining the conversion of the tidal power station into a fish farm.

Seeing Wu Chen silent, AI Ai reported on her own, “The code segment remains unchanged.”

“Rollback three saves.” One hundred coins was no small sum, but three attempts were enough. Wu Chen felt the truth lay just beyond this final step. The money had to be spent.

Paying 100 coins, port 013 engaged in full operation for the third time.

The hydrogen factory dissolved into light dust and reformed once more.

“Master, the code is restoring!” The AI’s voice brimmed with excitement.

Each rollback took progressively longer. The stubborn code, impossible to erase, continuously refreshed and self-completed. AI Ai scanned constantly, wary of any oversight.

Seconds ticked by until the light dust finally solidified.

“This is…” Wu Chen was stunned by the “alien aquarium” before him.

Unfortunately, many massive tanks were broken, half-filled with stagnant water, devoid of extraterrestrial life. After simulating the aquarium’s environment, the AI deduced the tanks had likely been shattered from within by their alien inhabitants. To understand what had occurred, it was necessary to access the aquarium’s database.

“Firewall bypassed.” Hacker skills posed no challenge to AI Ai. Soon, the last moments of the alien aquarium replayed on Wu Chen’s wristwatch: “Master, it was Cleanup Day!”

The aquarium’s final footage was distorted and flickering, intermittently breaking into fragments. During the attack, the image froze into mosaics. When restored, the alien aquarium lay in ruins, collapsing from the inside out, strewn with debris. Throughout, Wu Chen saw no enemies and never discerned the source of the attack.

The only certainty was that the assault occurred on Cleanup Day, resulting in the death of the flat-base’s original owner. Their exclusive branching storyline was completely lost. Because the aquarium was built atop an artifact, it carried the Guardian’s Memory, preserving it. After recovery by the camp, it changed hands multiple times through sales and transfers, finally becoming a commission reward obtained by Wu Chen.

“Master, maintenance port 013 reports: the tidal flat-base can no longer rollback.”

“Meaning this is the original memory of the tidal flat-base.” Wu Chen pondered.

“Yes. Cleanup Day erases all previous saves. Theoretically, each flat-base can hold up to 12 daily saves between two Cleanup Days. However, identical memories are never extracted twice. This flat-base changed ownership three times, allowing three consecutive rollbacks.” The AI then revealed a rule of the Broken City’s memories: “Each Cleanup Day serves as a new ‘memory point,’ erasing older saves. In other words, all ‘Shelter Constructs,’ ‘Broken City Artifacts,’ and ‘Story Memory Fragments’ retain only the latest 12 saves.”

“That’s the price of Cleanup Day—wiping all previous saves. Failing to survive Cleanup Day means ‘no old saves, no new saves.’ The player is trapped, ultimately forgotten by the world’s guardians.” Wu Chen grasped the gravity.

“Exactly. It’s like falling into a ‘memory gap’: no old memory, no new memory.”

Wu Chen pressed, “What should we do now?”

After spending 111 coins on three rollbacks, only a broken base was recovered—who would accept that?

“Please wait, Master. I am simulating execution of the newly restored code.” The AI spoke rapidly.

“What is it?” Wu Chen was eager.

“It appears to be a ‘quantum beacon’ used to activate a specific ‘quantum channel.’” The AI did not disappoint.

Quantum channels, colloquially known as quantum portals among Shelter players, use entangled quantum states for super-spatial-temporal quantum transmission. Wu Chen put it simply: “A one-way teleportation gate.”

“Exactly.” As she spoke, the AI completed the simulation and optimized the code.

“Master, you need to find a ‘quantum generator,’ ‘space-time shuttle,’ or ‘artificial wormhole device.’ Inputting this beacon code will open the portal.” The AI streamed the simulation to Wu Chen’s wristwatch: “The stubborn code cannot be erased or overwritten because it carries residual super-spatial-temporal traces—also called ‘broken memories’—which resist easy deletion.”

“Who in the camp has a ‘quantum generator,’ ‘space-time shuttle,’ or ‘artificial wormhole device’?” Wu Chen honed in on the key point.

“0427, Ren Shifei.”