The Level-Difference Game

Lu Keming signed up for The Class Divide Game.

In a game with a strict hierarchy and harsh rules,

Fourth-Class citizens are nothing more than low-value consumables,

there for the amusement of the powerful.

It’s a desperate gamble for survival.

Upon entering The Class Divide Game again,

Adrian accidentally became someone’s “temporary keeper.”

They each got what they needed. An equal exchange. Fair enough.

Until neither of them could tell:

Who was the hunter, and who was whose prey?

Worldbuilding:

Human civilization has never stopped exploring the vast universe out of curiosity. As technology advanced at an explosive pace, fleets capable of traveling vast distances across the universe through rapid super-domain jumps began rolling off the production lines in huge numbers.

Human desire is endless. Adventurers in the “New World” plundered resources and seized territory by force. Amid the chaotic, unregulated expansion of star systems and the wholesale restructuring of society, the old human civilization went up in a thunderous explosion. Its scattered dust became countless glittering stars, leading the way into the “Age of Interstellar Exploration.”

As a succession of negative factors continued to compound, including overexploitation, dwindling resources, environmental pollution, an aging population, entrenched class divisions, multipolar hegemony, wars, and the threat of nuclear conflict, Blue Star, already impoverished and barren from excessive exploitation, was no longer the most habitable home for humanity.

In the year 5589 of the Old Calendar, conflicts over the plunder of extraterrestrial resources escalated, triggering a full-scale nuclear war between nations, followed by a second round of nuclear retaliation.

Ultimately, the surface environment was dealt a fatal blow, and the civilization of Old Blue Star perished.

With habitable space shrinking rapidly, the lower classes had long been treated as expendable. Ironically, before the nuclear war began, the elite, who controlled most of the wealth, had already received “inside information” and made thorough preparations. They emigrated en masse to new cities in space, becoming the “New Humans.” They watched coldly as the privileged class brought about the apocalyptic disaster with their own hands, determined to wring the last bit of value from Blue Star.

In the first year of the Star Calendar, as traditional national governments lost their political influence, the giant corporations hiding behind capital finally dropped their disguises… These corporations controlled different star systems, starships, and fortunes, using private armies to usher in an era of resource partitioning.

As the apocalyptic nuclear war erupted and the traditional political and social structures completely dissolved, one corporate giant after another broke free of its home government and declared independence from Blue Star.

On the 721st day of exploration by the Amber, Captain Amelia Fisher and her research team arrived at a belt of asteroid fragments near Pluto. There, they discovered a new form of “energy-state” amber and an unknown species called “Gabriel.”

As research into “Gabriel” advanced, genetic technology made exponential leaps. What followed was the total collapse of ethical boundaries!

By implanting specific genetic fragments from “Gabriel” into test subjects and optimizing their biological genetic maps, scientists could not only bring about a complete evolution of bodily functions, but also extend the limits of telomerase division by hundreds of years.

The possibility of eternal life was no longer just a tale from ancient myths.

Even more astonishing, the genetic recombination process brought about irreversible changes in the test subjects’ physical structures, in addition to extending their lives. The “New Humans” had truly evolved into a new species.

The most revolutionary change occurred in the brain. Numerous nonphysical, nanoscale informational particles known as mental-force particles formed inside the human body.

Depending on the strength of these particles, genetic classifications were gradually divided into different grades: S, A, B, C, D, E, and F.

The significant differences in their inherited physical traits marked the birth of a new species, the “New Humans,” who were not entirely the same as traditional Old Humans.

Although the remnants of the old civilization survived in underground cities deep within the planet’s rocky crust and avoided total annihilation in the nuclear war, the irreversible harm caused by environmental changes had already been done. It would take tens of thousands of years for radioactive substances to decay and disappear.

New generations of Old Humans generally had short lifespans and various genetic defects. Though they continued to live tenaciously, they had become the lowest and most rightless scum of the “Interstellar Era.”

Ultimately, a rigid class barrier arose between the “New Humans,” represented by space settlers, and the “Old Humans,” trapped on Blue Star:

First-Class citizens: The long-established financial dynasties and political powers on Blue Star, backed by investments and support from corporations or nations. They were the “pioneers” of extraterrestrial civilizations. Even back on Blue Star, less than 20% of the population owned over 80% of the wealth. Their descendants became the absolute beneficiaries of this transfer of civilization and power from old to new.

Second-Class citizens: Accomplished pioneers of interstellar spacecraft and their descendants. They were the “forerunners,” operating vessels capable of interstellar jumps as a means of commerce. Their extensive freedom to command their starships gave them considerable power and helped them amass great wealth.

Third-Class citizens: Ordinary citizens, entitled to all the legal rights of the “New Humans.”

Fourth-Class citizens: Descendants of “Old Humans” from Blue Star, “privatized” by higher-class citizens. A group subjected to inferior genetic modifications, they have limited civil rights.

Fifth-Class untouchables: The dregs and drifters of Blue Star, whose personal information is not legally registered. They have no rights at all.

Whenever a new life is born, your “social class divide” has already determined most of your future.

Theme: Meet sincerity with sincerity